Elevance Health, Inc. (ELV) stock analysis

P/E above its 5-year median

Elevance Health's P/E of 18.3 is above its own 5-year median of 18.3.

P/E below the industry

Elevance Health's P/E of 18.3 is below the Accident and Health Insurance and Medical median of 21.3.

P/S below the industry

Elevance Health's price-to-sales of 0.46 is below the Accident and Health Insurance and Medical median of 0.80.

P/B below the industry

Elevance Health's price-to-book of 2.08 is below the Accident and Health Insurance and Medical median of 2.31.

Trading below fair value

The share price of $429.48 is below our fair value estimate of $498.02.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 13.8% below fair value, less than the 20% cushion we look for.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew 8.3% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing under 10% a year

Diluted EPS grew 1.3% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth not accelerating

Net income grew -7.1% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 4.4% a year.

Growing slower than the industry

Revenue grew 3.6% over the last twelve months; the Accident and Health Insurance and Medical median is 6.8%.

Guidance raised

Elevance Health raised its FY 2026 operating cash flow outlook on Jul 15, 2026.

Gross margin improving

Gross margin was 89.0% over the last twelve months, against 88.9% a year earlier.

Return on equity under 15%

Return on equity was 11.6% over the last twelve months and averaged 15.6% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

Return on assets over 1%

Return on assets was 4.1%; for a bank or insurer, 1% or more is considered good.

Return on equity below the industry

Elevance Health's return on equity of 11.6% is below the Accident and Health Insurance and Medical median of 11.9%.

Earnings grew over 5 years

Net income grew 4.4% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin below its 5-year average

Net margin was 2.5% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 3.6%.

Net margin above the industry

Elevance Health's net margin of 2.5% is above the Accident and Health Insurance and Medical median of 2.0%.

High debt

Debt is 68.8% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

Debt rising against equity

Debt to equity rose from 60.3% five years ago to 68.8%.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 24.7% of total debt.

Interest not well covered

Operating income covers interest expense 3.8 times; we look for at least 5.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 1.47 times current liabilities.

Bankruptcy risk (Altman Z)

The Altman model does not apply to insurers.

Pays a dividend

Elevance Health paid dividends worth 1.6% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 1.6% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Elevance Health yields 1.6%.

Dividend not cut

The dividend per share has not fallen by more than 10% in any of the last 8 fiscal years.

Covered by earnings

Dividends take 29.2% of net income.

Covered by free cash flow

Dividends take 23.0% of free cash flow.